Energy efficient changes to a Chicago-area liquor and wine establishment’s lighting and beverage coolers saved it more than $2,700 annually in utility and maintenance costs, after first capturing a $5,000 rebate to fund the project.

The Carol Stream-based store sought to enhance its lighting to better display merchandise and highlight promotions. Bensenville-based Sustainable Lighting Solutions (SLS) provided a free assessment of the store’s energy usage, including the efficiency of its beverage coolers to identify all potential energy savings.

SLS installed a solution that included a total of 34 energy saving fixtures throughout the store and inside the beverage coolers. The changes not only enhanced the store’s lighting and product displays, it decreased its annual energy consumption from 35,206 kWh to 11,297 kWh; an amount equal to $2,500 annually.

“Most businesses are aware of how much electricity refrigeration consumes, but they don’t realize how easy it is to make changes that will save them a significant amount of money,” says Mike Sweitzer, SLS founder and President.

SLS is a certified trade ally of ComEd’s Small Business program. The program is funded by consumers and business through monthly assessments for the state’s energy efficiency programs on their utility bills. The user fees are rebated to companies that make approved energy efficiency changes that decrease their electricity consumption.

SLS worked with ComEd to maximize the project’s savings and secured nearly $5,200 in rebates toward the cost of the project. The store recouped its share of the project’s cost in one year. The cost of not moving forward with the project – to do nothing – was more than $200 a month. Within five years, the project will free up nearly $9,000 in cash for the store’s owners.

Sustainable Lighting Solutions worked with an Alsip, IL warehouse facility to upgrade its lighting, saving more than $26,000 each year in energy and maintenance costs. SLS assessed the facility and recommended replacing existing HID fixtures with Orion T8 Compact Modular High Bay and Low Bay fixtures in the warehouse. SLS also upgraded the company’s freezer and cooler areas, replacing existing HID fixtures with energy efficient LED fixtures. SLS increased energy efficiency even further by installing occupancy sensors in the warehouse areas as well as in the freezer and cooler areas.

The lighting upgrade made a huge difference in visibility, doubling light levels in certain areas of the facility. The improvements came with a big decrease in energy consumption, saving an estimated $26,000 per year.